Trunk-caster



UNITED STATES y Parlava* FFC.

SIG-ISMUN M. 'll/IICHELSON, OF MIIVAUKEE, lVlSC/ONSIN.

TRUNK-CASTER'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,061, dated June 26, 1883.

Application filed March 26, 1893. (Model.)

To all whom it may concer/1,

Be it known that I, SIGIsMUND M. MICHEL- SON, of Milwaukee, in the county ofl\Iil,waukee, and in the State of NVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combined Trunk-'Roller and Corner-Irons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof. 4

My invention relates especially to rollers jonrnaled in the corner-irons of trunks; and

it consists in certain pecularities of construction, as will be set forth hereinafter and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a bottom view of one form of my device. Fig. 2 is a crosssection of the same on the line of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is abottom. view of amodified construction. Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the form shown in Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view, showing a slightly-modied form of the proteetingdisk. I

A Al represent parts of the frame of a trunk, and I3 is a corner-iron applied thereto, which may be provided with a .projecting bumper, b, as shown. The bottom part of the corneriron is provided with a circular well, 1)', to receive and protect the roller C and its journal' ceive the journal c of the roller C, which is thus sustained between the arms d d, the said hub and its arms preferably not extending below the bottom edge of the well, but being inclosed in and protected thereby, andthe hub of the roller is secured to the bottom of the corner-iron by a vertical bolt, E, which may be upset at each end or secured by a nut, as preferred.

In the simplest formV of my device, Figs. l and 2, I have shown the well left open at the base, but in the other views I have shown a protecting circular disk or plate, D, integral wither secured to the huband its arms, and cut away to allow the roller O to project through, but elsewhere wholly covering the well b. The object of this plate is to elfectually guard against the admission of dirt, snow, pebbles, or other foreign matter which might otherwise get into the well and possibly prevent the hub from freely revolving, or otherwise interfere with the roller, and its periphery is designed to either move in a shoulder provided for it at the bottom of the circular vertical wall of the well, as shown in Fig. 4, or else to be provided with a slight circular flange to encircle the slightly-projecting circular vertical wall of said well, as shown in Fig. 5. As this plate D adds slightly to the cost of my device, I propose to use it with the more expensive style of trunks, and employ the simpler form without this plate for the cheaper trunks.

My device can be very readily and quickly applied to trunks, it being only necessary to saw or bore out the bottom strip, A, so as to leave room for the projecting well, and then to fasten the plates of the corner-iron to the trunk in the usual manner. A trunk thus equipped can be instantly and easily moved in any direction, while at the same time, as the hub and bearings ofthe roller are sustained wholly within the described well, they are.

guarded against the danger of coming in contact with obstacles, and thus being broken off, for as only a small portion of the roller proj ects below the bottom of the trunk,should any obstacle strike the same it would only serve to swing the roller around on its pivot E out of the way without injury thereto.

Instead of being strictly vertical, the inner walls of the well may be somewhat rounded or inclined, as shown in Fio. et, whereby there would be less room for any foreign substance to lodge between said wall and the roller as the latter was carried around the circle of the well, and the periphery of this roller is intended to be very close to the said wall, so as to almost but not quite touch it all times in its sweep.

I am aware that a roller-plate has been pivoted to a lug on a depressed pla-te, and do not claim such, but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A trunk roller ]'ournaled between the arms of a swinging frame having a vertical hub andaprotecting-plate, all solid or integral v with cach other, the said hub being pivoted to IOO nals of said roller being entirely above the protecting-plate, which is perforated to allow the roller to proj` eet through ,but otherwise entirely covering the well or recess within which the roller-bearing moves, substantially as set forth.

2. A Combined trunk-roller and eorner-iron7 the latter having a corner-bumper and a depression orreoess in which the roller moves7 the latter being j ournaled between the arms of a swinging frame-,having a solid hub and solid covering-plate out away to allow the roller to proj eet through7 but inelosing the joiirnals of the roller and their bearing-frame, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I olaim the foregoing I 15 have hereunto set my hand7 on this 19th day of March, 1883, in the presence of two witnessos.

SIGISMUND M. MICHELSON. lVitnesses:

H. G. UNDERwooD, MAURICE KAUMHEIMER. 

